Six weeks in France

I'll start by advising that the Loire Valley chateaux are best seen with your own rental car or by mini tour, as they are generally not accessible by train or bus. May-June is a wonderful time to visit as the gardens are coming into bloom.

We based ourselves in Azay-le-Rideau at the Hotel de Biencourt, which we absolutely loved. It was essential to have our own car, though.

If you visit Chenonceau and have a couple of hours to spare, check whether Le Belandre boat that goes under the iconic bridge is still running tours. We really enjoyed that!

The Dordogne is another area where depending on public transportation will be somewhat limiting. I did it, and I enjoyed my visit, but I had to devote considerable time to the area, spending multiple nights in five different towns (Agen, Bergerac, Brive-la-Gaillarde, Perigueux and Cahors) in order to have ready access to buses to some smaller towns I wanted to see. I can't tell you anything about the availability of short tours that might get you to multiple small towns/villages in one day, but something like that would be helpful if your focus is small villages. I recommend digging into one or two guidebooks to put together a list of potential destinations, based on your personal interests.

Provence also has some small towns and villages that are popular with foreign visitors but difficult or impossible to reach by public transportation. My guess is that bus tours to some of the smaller spots are likeliest to originate in Avignon or Arles, but that's just a guess. Incidentally, how are you defining Provence? If you want to include places along the Riviera, that's really a different area that would require more time. Nice is the transportation hub of the Riviera, but there's a rail line along the coast, so it is possible to stay in a different city if you prefer to do so.

Languedoc-Roussillon also has a variety of very good destinations, but only you know what sorts of places appeal to you. This is an area where you can get around pretty well by train and bus, but not if you want to visit the Cathar ruins.

I have been visiting Provence for 10 years now because my daughter and her family live there. There is bus and train transportation in Nice that takes you along the coast. Avignon and Aix would be two other good places to stay where there is train transportation (and perhaps buses). However, based on my experiences, I really, really believe that visiting Provence (except the French Riviera) and Dordogne (we spent 6 nights there a few years ago) is better served by rental car. Are you absolutely against renting a car? Part of the allure of Provence is visiting the small villages which do not have train service. You would have to research guided bus tours. I think that is your best bet if you don't want to rent a car. Or hire a private driver if that is in your budget. I prefer staying in St. Remy de Provence because it's very pretty with lots of restaurants, cafes, and shops. St. Remy is a great base for touring the Luberon villages and other places such as Les Baux and Pont du Gard. However, you do need a car if you are staying in St. Remy.

I think a rental car for the Dordogne makes touring easier, too, in order to visit villages, castles, caves, etc. Sarlat is a nice place to stay. It's central for many of the Dordogne sites, and is a nice place to return to at the end of the day for restaurants, etc.

I suggest purchasing some good guidebooks, such as Michelin Green Guide and Lonely Planet in addition to Rick Steves.

Hi Donna,
(et aussi yo Kwoo! Merry Xmas de zebec)

Just a few ideas off the top of my head: a mix of small plus larger places might create some variety.

First off, je propose Uzes. It was one of our most enjoyable stays. Thanks in no small part to our rental there, an all-time highlight (happy to provide details or one could simply check out our TR 'Provencal Echo'). Villeneuve-les-Avignon is for us, one of France's most-underrated places. We are told that the actual town itself of Carcassonne is in fact an excellent base. Another location to which we've yet to visit but heard great things about is tiny Olargues.

Aix and Lourmarin both have worthy markets. Cucuron makes a unique daytrip. Domme is similarly quiet.
Sarlat makes another good base, with Marqueyssac gardens as a possible daytrip. Other obvious choices to visit or stay in, include Beynac (boating/swimming) plus its close cousin la Roque-Gageac. St. Cyprien's Sunday market was our fave.
A sleepier, lesser-known place is St. Leon sur Vezere, popular with horse-riders.
Prehistoric cave art 'musts' include: Font de Gaume and les Eyzies.

Got another fantastic rental to suggest in Meursault (owner gal is garden guru Monty Don's BBC producer). The town itself is almost too quiet, but wonderful vineyard hiking and daytrips more than make up for that: eg. hike to nearby Volnay for lunch. Cycle down that wonderful country lane to Pulginy-Montrachet, for its unique tasting of world-class dry white wines. Apparently, Beaune's famed Bistro Bourguignon has just this month been sold. *If it maintains the quality of its wine offerings by-the-glass, then IMHO this cafe still ranks as one of Burgundy's most un-missable travel experiences.
An essential visit in that same area is Semur-en-Auxois.

Hope this helps et bon chance dans le printemps.
I am done. The end.

Hello Donna,
I can make several suggestions from my experience traveling to the Loire Valley and Provence.
Tours is a wonderful base for visiting the chateaux in the Loire. I stayed there and took a minivan tour which I had reserved through the tourist center in town. This half day tour was delightful. I saw big and small chateaux as well as my favorite place, Villandry, which had parterre gardens that were sensational. The tour picked up in the city center and returned me to the same location near the tourist office. Tours is also a delightful town with pretty black and white striped architecture on several historic buildings. This is also a wine region where you can taste Vouvray wines. Additionally, Amboise is a town of particular interest since it has the home of Leonardo da Vinci and his tomb in a chapel in the castle.
For Provence, the most convenient place to base yourself is Avignon. From there you can catch buses or trains to nearby towns. Avignon also has a variety of restaurants (different cuisines) and shops which makes it a fun place to return to after daytrips. I have stayed in Avignon multiple times and visited Nimes, Arles, St-Remy, Aix-en-Provence and other smaller towns in the past.
Enjoy your travel planning.